wildlife – Everyday Magic

Magic of the Everyday, Nature, Nebula Awards, Personal Life, Quasar Conference, Writing

Thanksgiving Countdown

November 18, 2025 M.E. Garber

We’re definitely in the “planning for Thanksgiving” stage, with lists being assembled, decorating having begun, and cooking times and menus being shuffled and balanced. Last week, I raked leaves. Our new backyard holds a huge pin oak tree, which even now is holding some leaves tight onto its branches, while most other trees around us are skeletons against the turbulent and cloud-filled November skies. I’m sure another round of raking is in my future. Yet despite that, we’ve already had a snowfall and accumulation that stuck around for a day and a half–about 2-3 inches of the white stuff!–before the temps rose up into the low 60s and autumn returned. Quite an introduction to the shifting of the seasons!

We also watched as two huge buck white-tailed deer, one an 11-point graying elder, the other a much younger 10-point, squared off in our side yard over a young doe, who lay patiently nearby awaiting the outcome of their testosterone fueled fight. In the end, the elder buck fled to the other side of our house, while the younger stared across the fence at his vanquished rival for a long while, making sure he understood where things stood between them. A few days later, however, I spotted the young victor limping across the backyard of the house behind ours, only lightly putting weight on one back leg as he went. Next I saw one of his huge and gorgeous antlers was broken just below the halfway mark. Car, or the next conflict that he badly lost? Either way, the elder buck knows, because I’ve seen him walking confidently about again, reclaiming his crown as reigning buck of the neighborhood.

In writing news, this past weekend was the inaugural Quasar conference. The Quasars are the smaller, fall counterpart of the Nebula Awards Conference. Unlike the Nebulas, the Quasars are only online, and much more intimate. If you attended the Nebulas, you got free entry to the Quasars. If you didn’t, the cost was a mere $50, which felt like a steal after seeing the programming!

There were sessions on speculative poetry, on collaboration, on contracts, and on getting science right (done in collaboration with actual scientists and science writers!), anthologies and how editing (and submitting to them) works, YA SFF, and so much more. There was also an amazing interview with the current and immediate-past SFWA Grand Masters, which was so motivating. It was followed by the announcement of next year’s Grand Master, who’ll be inducted officially at the Nebula Awards in Chicago–N.K. Jemisin! What a great pick!

So yes, overall the Quasars were the exact right thing at the right time, infusing me with optimism and writing inspiration at a time of year when those are usually lacking for me. If you didn’t attend this year, you might want to put it on your “yes” list for next year.

Personal life has been hard of late, however. Lots of things piling up with various family members and friends and finances and such, and all of it has piled up and up until it sometimes feels like the world is trying to bury me. Which has, of course, led to yet another slowdown in writing, one that I absolutely hate but that exists nonetheless. (Another reason the Quasars were so good for me was that it helped counteract some of this.)

Still, I can see the ending of the year, and with it the hopes for a new year blooming, right there on the horizon. And with the new year, which dawns in darkness, comes time to renew, refresh, and reinvigorate for another push. Another attempt at attaining long-term goals. And of course the new year brings more joys, both the big ones that come with success, and the smaller, more intimate ones that come with simple enjoyments with partner, pets, family, friends, nature, and simply being alive.

Which brings me back to Thanksgiving. Acknowledging and giving thanks for all the beauty and wonders in my life. There is so much to be thankful for. Even in the dark there are stars, and the wonder of them hints at stories to be glimpsed or imagined. Curiosity and awe blossom within my heart at the very thought.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Cryptic Kennels, Magic of the Everyday, Nature, Personal Life

Falling into Autumn

October 10, 2025 M.E. Garber

It was a stunning morning, with temps around 41F (that’s 7 for those of you living by C), and a stiff breeze that made it feel even cooler. Brrrr-risk! But as the sun rose and the winds calmed, the day has become glorious.

The deer are clumping into herds again, and I’m just waiting to see two bucks facing off in the street. I’m sure it’s happened before, and that it’ll happen again. This morning on our dog-walk, Gem and I saw a buck crossing our road at the corner, and later we saw four does in the woods, just standing there a mere 20 feet away, watching us pass by, ears flicking impatiently. The Canada geese are flying, large v’s of them arcing across the sky as they turn and descend onto the little lake inside the park. Their calls, and the sound of the displaced water as they skim to a halt, seems like the soundtrack of fall.

And the flavor? Well, after 10 years away, I’ve found crabapples and made crabapple jelly, which to me is the very essence of autumnal tastes. Tart apple made sweet with sugar and heavily spiced with cloves: mmmmm.

Halloween is around the corner, with decor having popped up all over–pumpkins, skeletons, witches, spiders, and jack-o-lanterns galore. No decor but a huge mum here, but I like to wait til closer to Halloween to decorate. We’ll see how it goes this year; the move has really taken the wind out of my sails, so decorations may be slim this time around. Perhaps I’ll save my energy for the winter Yuletide decorations.

I’m nearing “The End” on Cryptic Kennels, my serial over on Ream. When it’s complete, I’ll need to edit the manuscript and then decide if I want to seek a traditional publication with it, or if I want to release it myself as a self-published book. I see a lot of merit to both options, so I’m hesitant to call it one way or the other just yet. I’ll see how I feel about it once edits are done, and my crit group has had a look and offered me their advice. Fall seems a time for considering all options.

And what’s next? I have about 4 separate novel-length ideas percolating, and again, I’ll need to decide which one to follow. Sigh. So many choices, so little time! But it’s a great “problem” to have, honestly. I feel like I’ve refilled my creative well, and now I’m brimming over with ideas and thoughts and writing snippets. Maybe over the Yuletide break, I’ll sneak off for a day of complete solitude and give myself over to contemplating the ideas and settling on “The One.” It sounds like a great idea just now, but of course, Mother Nature often has entirely different ideas for my future than I do–so no promises, just hopes that such an outing can occur.

Right now, I’m going to go curl up with a book and a cup of tea, near a sunny window where I can enjoy the heck outta fall, while it lasts.

book review, Magic of the Everyday, Nature, Personal Life, the dog, Writing

Rainy Day News

May 22, 2025 M.E. Garber

Yes, it’s a rainy day here. The all-day-long, maybe all-week-long kind of dreary gray that sometimes launches into sudden downpours that take those without umbrellas unawares and soak walkers to the skin. It’s chilly, too; only 52F (11C). With the rain’s thick damp, that chill really settles into the body’s core, creeping in from the corners of the house, and inclines me towards dreams of napping, although that remains but a dream.

Instead, I’ve made a warming cup of chai, lit a candle–my current favorite, which smells like honey and therefore wraps me in a scent-cloud of warmth like a beam of sunlight–and here I am, at my keyboard, getting on with words. Oh, and tonight’s dinner plan has changed to a warming roasted tomato-leek soup with grilled cheese sandwich. Mmmm, comfort in a bowl.

Last week Friday our back yard was finally fenced, and now Gem can run freely. She’s been going outside every day and just running loops of zoomies for the sheer joy of it. I cannot describe how happy it makes me–doubly so when I think how much pain I’m saving my arm and back now that she’s not constrained to leash-walks only!

Yesterday the neighborhood deer discovered the fence. They were…not pleased, to say the least. Two came up cautiously and sniffed at it, wondering what the heck?!? The third, a pregnant doe, just stood there, one ear flicking irritably. As if by staring at the offending fencing long and hard enough she could make it disappear. Unfortunately for her, the fence remains. A long while after the others made their peace by either walking away or leaping it, she turned, stared through the window accusingly at me, swished her tail, and trudged to the front yard. Where honestly, there is plenty for her to eat! And I’m hoping that without as many deer, we’ll get fewer ticks on the dog, and on us.

Later, I plan on reading a bit. But let me tell you about a book I just finished. Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore, by Emily Krempholtz, is a cozy fantasy romance that is, as the title suggests, about the difficult task of reinventing yourself. Specifically, of changing your behavior and actions, and trying hard–your very hardest, because it is unimaginably difficult to change who you are–to be a good person after having been raised to be an evil villain. Honestly, the first chapter didn’t win me over, but it was there to set the stage for the change to come and I recognized that and stuck with it. And I’m glad I did. The book was funny, a bit witty, and oh-so-relevant as folks realize they’ve perhaps been less than kind to others. And while the resolution might be a wee bit too hopeful, I still loved it. Because who doesn’t want to be seen as flawed, but changed for the better, after having undergone a major mindset shift and behavioral change? We’re all allowed to change, right? Let’s remember that, and grant one another a bit of grace if one seems to be trying, is what this book is saying. And I’m on board with that. The book will be available in November 2025.

Magic of the Everyday, Moving, Nature, the dog

Springtime, Weather Whiplash

April 15, 2025 M.E. Garber

Yes, it’s that time of year when you spend one afternoon blissing out in the sunshine, eyes closed as you simply exist and soak up the warmth, and the next you’re wrapped up in a heavy coat that somehow still can’t keep out the chill, which shivers down your spine and into your very soul. The way spring does.

It’s also the time of year when outdoor projects get stranded half-undone as the weather shifts, and the gorgeous magnolia blossoms finally begin bursting open only to be nipped by the cold, and those remaining yellow or brown, unopened. It’s a season of alternating delights and frustrations, isn’t it?

We’ve just come through a patch of delights, and are heading into another short (I hope) bit of frustration. Today the temperature is falling, and falling. And falling more once evening steals across the land, absconding with the little sun that managed to glare through the clouds! Yet I’m hoping for better weather over the weekend, when we get to welcome our first guest to the new home, and Gem gets to discover more people.

Before long, we’ll also be “welcoming” more deer into our yard. The four does who are pregnant are still around. This morning they discovered the pile of honeysuckle that I’d cut and stacked in the backyard, and happily clustered around it, browsing off the convenient leaves. A neighbor informs me that they often give birth in his fenced yard, and that they usually have twins. So four pregnant does means eight fawns…yikes! I’m glad our fencing is coming soon. It certainly won’t keep the adult deer out, but at least it may prevent the youngest fawns from venturing inside, where their Mama Deer would viciously protect them from our dog and from us! (Our vet even warned us about this, as he’s treated many deer-attacked dogs.) Here’s hoping that by the time they can leap the fence, the Mama Deer won’t be quite as likely to attack as to show their fawns how to leap to safety!

Pregnant doe easily leaping a 4 ft fence

I’m waiting until after the fence is in to even begin with the vegetable garden. Due to the particularly heavy clay soil, it’s got to be a series of raised beds, which disappoints me. But I’m no longer up to the task of double-digging in soil as heavy and thickly clay-ey as we now have, if I ever was (this is really heavy soil!). I’m sure the worms will soon find it, especially once we start amending with compost from the compost heaps we’ll also be creating. Yes, you’re right, that’s a lot of gardening, and we haven’t even begun with the “decorative” parts around the house yet (we have nearly none, so we’ll need to do that, too.). It’s going to be a lot of hard, joyful work!

Just now the wind is ramping up to a good dull roar, while Gem is curled up asleep on the chair here in my office, snoring softly. It’s nice. Peaceful and homey. A good time to get on with some writing, before the garden eats my life.

Magic of the Everyday, Nature, Personal Life, Writing

We Survived Hurricane Ian Just Fine, and other updates…

October 7, 2022 M.E. Garber

So yeah, you might have heard of Hurricane Ian? It passed nearly overtop of us. Fortunately, not as a hurricane, but “only” as tropical storm.

We got incredibly lucky. We lost an old grapefruit tree laden with nearly-ripe fruit, and a banana tree with a bloom-spike covered with our first banana harvest, and had sticks, branches and such everywhere. But that was all. We didn’t flood, though for some few hours we were confined to our subdivision by deep water at the entrance–not an issue as the rain and winds were still more than I wanted to go driving through. Somehow, amazingly, we didn’t even lose power.

After prepping for the storm, then clean-up, then putting things back where they normally are (and removing hurricane shutters), we’ve gotten back to what our definition of “normal” is. Even Dasher is happy, now that we’re done being stressed. Especially since his sunshine is back for daily sunbathing, which is his second most favorite thing, right after peanut butter.

On Monday, I completed the edit of my novel draft. I honestly can’t believe it. The Mastery Books is coming in at about 92,000 words, and I think it’s one of the best works of long fiction I’ve ever written. I had a momentary “YAY” moment, and now…I get the sheer drudgery of writing the query letter, then the synopsis. It’s a necessary evil, I know that. And I’ll work at it until I craft one that works–however long that may take. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s still an evil.

The days are warming up again, but the nights and evenings are staying deliciously cool and non-humid. It’s “windows open” time, and I’m enjoying this so very much. This afternoon, the sound of leaves crunching outside my office alerted me to what became an amazing sight: two anoles repeatedly attacking one another, rolling into balls of frenzied action before one would throw the other 3 or so inches away. Then a standoff, and they’d do it again. This went on for some time, eventually moving out of my view (no, I’m not sure who won).

I’d never seen anoles do more than posture at one another, doing their “menacing push-ups” and flashing their throat sacs. I didn’t know they’d actually fight so viciously, or for so long! Thank you, open window!

Now I’m beginning to work up my ideas for my next novel, and get that rolling, though I can hardly believe it. I’ve got a few thoughts, but they need more work and expanding. This is the truly fun part, where everything and anything is possible! Wheeeeee!

Magic of the Everyday, Personal Life

Autumn’s Arrival

August 30, 2022August 30, 2022 M.E. Garber

Even here, in the heat and humidity of central Florida, it’s clear that the season is shifting from summer into autumn. For the last few weeks, the oaks, in particular, have drooped a bit more as if weary from battling the heat, and their once-intensely-green leaves have shifted to a drab olive. Now they’re beginning to drop acorns onto the sidewalks, where they crunch mightily underfoot (and boy do I enjoy that crunch, the way it pops and the sense of that pop shivers up my foot and ankle with the sound!)

Add to this the mushrooms suddenly sprouting everywhere–small ones under the oak tree. A huge one in the neighbor’s lawn where just yesterday nothing marred the green of their St Augustine grass, and another like it halfway around the block, and equally isolated! Such mysteries they are, secretive yet lovely.

The squirrels are busy eating every magnolia seedpod, stripping the “fluff” to get the nutritious red “berries” nestled within, and the hawk who earlier this year was catching anole lizards has finally–finally!–progressed to eating squirrels! The ibis flocks are all the of white adults, with no more brown or speckled juveniles in their midst, and the tiny ducklings are grown.

And, finally, after weeks and weeks of little rain, the rain has returned, and now the National Hurricane Center is tracking two disturbances that could become hurricanes, one red (very likely to progress) and the other orange (maybe will progress). So, yes, it’s autumn, even here in the south.

I’m looking forward to opening my windows, to sitting outdoors, to becoming more active in my gardens–all the things folks up north do in the summer, I do in fall and winter, when it’s cool enough. Even Dasher’s been perkier during the evening walks, since the rains leave the temps dropped to bearable for a few hours, at least. His pace is fast, and I’m forced to speed-walk–something I’ve almost forgotten how to do since all the long summer I’ve been the one pushing him forward!

Did I mention fall is my favorite season? Even here, in the south? LOL, I bet you guessed.

I do miss nature’s vibrant leafy displays from up north, and those first frosty nights, and the hearty meals to counteract them. But I’m looking forward to the new crop of fresh citrus, and freshly-pressed orange juice for breakfast, and eating outdoors. Raking leaves? Well, not so much joy there. St Augustine grass has runners that the rake catches and it’s just annoying. But it’ll be that time all too soon, and the exercise will be good for me.

Until then, back to writing, and reading, and other indoor pursuits. And may fall be glorious for us all.

Magic of the Everyday, Nature, Taos Toolbox, Writing, Writing Workshops

A Two Bunny Day

December 10, 2021 M.E. Garber

Yes, I currently have two bunnies in my garden, right up against the lanai screen, contentedly devouring sweet potato leaves and leaf-stems. Yesterday was a 3-bunny day, a major milestone! Once we replaced our rotted out and falling over wooden fence, the back fence that barriers against a wooded retention pond runoff area was changed to powder-coated metal, which allows the critters to easily slide right through.

Terrible pic, but you’ll still see two rabbits if you squint. I hope. And the new fence that they love.

We’ve definitely seen an increase in backyard wildlife. Used to be we’d get maybe one rabbit sliding through the low hollow beneath the fence. Now it’s all the critters gliding right on in and out to come a-visiting! I’m not too concerned about their eating the sweet potato vines down to stumpy bits; I’ve already harvested and given away more sweet potatoes than I care to think about, and still have about half of the vines left–or, well, I did, until the rabbits decided to help 🙂

I’m so glad for this bit of delight, and the cooler weather that allows us all here to enjoy being and working outside, because not everything’s been bunnies and harvests. Dasher had another scary episode of seizures (he’s idiopathic epileptic). Before that we had the longest span without seizures he’s ever had since his seizures began at about 1 year of age. As he’s nearing 8 years old, every seizure wracks his arthritis-pained limbs, causing more discomfort and pain for longer after he recovers. It’s truly heartbreaking, but I’m glad to report that he’s fine again now, and seems to have completely come back to his good, happy, regularly-abnormal self!

Writing-wise, things were going swimmingly up until Dasher’s seizures started. I had an “aggressive” writing plan for the month of December (aggressive for me, at least!), pushing through the last half of the novel’s edits to be finished before the end of the year. However, I’ve now lost a full 6 days, plus another 1.5 for recovery–I got somewhere between 2-4 hours of broken sleep each night of the dog’s “episode,” and multiple auto-immune issues mean I really don’t do well with that; stress literally turns my thinking capacity to mush. So… I’m still trying to push ahead and finish as much as I possibly can between now and the end of the year, but I’m gonna try to not flay myself if I fall short of that goal (I hope).

Which brings me to another point about writing: if you are a writer, maybe you feel bad when things don’t go well. Maybe you feel like a failure if you don’t get that story, or novel, published. But I’ve got news for you: rejection of your writing doesn’t mean you are a failure. Not ever. As a human being, you have more value than just what your writing brings in. Human value is not transactional. Never was, never will be. The duo of writers that comprise the byline James S. A. Corey (of The Expanse fame) were guest speakers at Taos Toolbox the year I attended, and it was one of their key points: failure happens, over and over, between the successes that all focus on. Walter Jon Williams and Nancy Kress gave stories of their own professional ups and downs, reiterating that theme. (I say this so you know it’s not just some rando spouting nonsense at you, okay?) This wisdom has helped me, so I hope it helps you, too, if you need to hear it.

Speaking of which…

Taos Toolbox is open for submissions beginning January 1. They plan on hosting their 2022 workshop in person, June 6-19, 2022. It’s two glorious weeks of focusing on writing and its craft, and it’s set on the gorgeous slopes of Angel Fire, NM. Find out more and apply over at their website: http://www.taostoolbox.com

Writing

Tidbits of Life

October 26, 2021 M.E. Garber

Writing a novel is hard. Editing a novel is harder still (for me, at any rate). It’s a slow game, and a long game, especially if, like me, you’re hoping to pursue a traditional-publishing writing deal. There isn’t much to show for long stretches of time. I get it, but it’s the field I’ve chosen to pursue.

In the interest of keeping my blog alive, therefore: real life!

Over the weekend, we went to the Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive, and we spotted baby alligators! And got to hear their quiet peeping to momma, who hovered protectively nearby (don’t worry, there was a sheer drop keeping momma in the water and us safe). Then we drove further and spotted a huge gator sunning just over the bridge and past the fence line. I’ve seen one there before, usually in the water, though, so it was cool to see it up on dry land. It had to be 10 ft long! (go ahead and click to enlarge the photos–especially those cute baby alligators with their yellow stripes!)

That’s it for now. Cute alligators and writing. One does not lead to the other, but both are keeping me afloat. Just, ya know, I’m not generally “floating” in the vicinity of the gators…

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